Vanessa Rousso Releasing New Single "Kiss Face"

Vanessa Rousso had a lot at stake with her poker career as a former PokerStars pro – much was expected from her. Her time at the tables waned in the past couple years as other parts of her life developed. Her passion for music grew as her relationship with Mel Ouellet developed into their DJ/producer duo N1TEL1TE.

They duo have been working for a couple years producing electronic dance music and DJ sets and have a new single “Kiss Face” releasing on February 5th.

“’Kiss Face’ is the first in a series of dance genre singles we will release this year,” Rousso said. “’Kiss Face’ itself is a project that we started in early 2016 and originally intended for it to be used as the instrumental backdrop of a Future House remix we were going to produce for Adele’s hit song ‘Hello’.”

“However, after demoing the beat we had produced to some of our close friends and music-industry insiders, we felt that this piece deserved to stand on its own as an original production,” she added. “Ultimately, during a road trip across the US in our RV (2016) we developed the vocal hook idea for ‘Kiss Face’ and began working on integrating it into the song. The song has changed a lot over the last year and we are stoked about the final version.”

The focus on a music career shifted after Rousso grew weary of poker as a profession. “Being a poker player, everything is zero-sum. My win is always somebody else’s loss and over time that took a toll on my soul,” she said.

“With music, I can bring positivity to others. I can spread love and make people dance, my win can be a win for everyone,” she added. “For me, that’s the best feeling in the world.”

“With my focus on music, I don’t have plans to play poker full time for the near future,” said Rousso. “However, poker is still a part of my life and something that I love to do. I will play the WSOP Main Event this year and a few other choice events here and there, but for now I am focusing as much as possible on the music. “

“The scariest part of this whole process was my decision to go all in on a music career in late 2015,” she said. “I had a poker resume that I was proud of and a set of skills that I could rely on comfortably for income. However, there was something missing for me at the end of the day.”

Rousso and Ouellet have a busy 2017 ahead of them with live performances, a series of singles to follow “Kiss Face” and the N1TEL1TE site and online store. “Every day is a full day in the studio for us right now and I can honestly say that I am blessed to able to pursue my dream.”